Republicans hope former President Donald Trump’s trip on Thursday will bring unity to their split caucuses in the Senate and House of Representatives

image credit: NBC News

as the party prepares for the Nov. 5 election.
Trump is scheduled to meet with House Republicans Thursday morning and have lunch with Senate Republicans, with the goal of coordinating campaign efforts to secure a “trifecta” of Republican dominance of the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Trump and incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden both had unified governments during their first two years in office. Still, their parties lost control of the House after the midterm elections, limiting their capacity to approve legislation.

On Thursday, the Republican presidential candidate will address the Business Roundtable, an alliance of over 200 significant CEOs in Washington, D.C.
“Our chance to gain a majority in the Senate is inextricably related to President Trump’s victory.

Republicans aim to defeat Biden, maintain their House majority of 218–213, and gain control of the Senate, which is now led by Democrats 51–49.
Old Grievances
However, the visit has highlighted persistent conflicts between Trump and members of Congress, particularly Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who has not talked with the former president since acknowledging Biden’s election victory in December 2020. Trump’s false claims that his defeat was the result of fraud were what led to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Despite their differences, the Kentucky Republican expressed strong support for Trump’s candidacy. “I support him. He received the nomination from people around the country. “And, of course, I’ll attend the meeting,” McConnell told reporters on Wednesday.
Others, including moderates Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney, will not attend due to scheduling issues.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson met with Senate Republicans for lunch to discuss how a united Republican administration could utilize budget reconciliation, a parliamentary vehicle, to bypass Democratic concerns in the Senate.

House and Senate Republicans will focus on making permanent tax cuts under Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which would otherwise expire next year.
Lawmakers are also expected to address their spending plans for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 and how to deal with the coming Jan. 1 deadline to raise or suspend the nation’s debt ceiling. Brinkmanship surrounding debt-ceiling deadlines has often scared financial markets.

House Republican centrists also hope Trump will persuade extreme conservatives, who removed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October, attempted to replace Johnson last month, and have stalled their own party’s legislation over the previous year, to join the rest of the conference.
“The president has an opportunity to reaffirm to the members of our conference how important it is to stick together,” U.S. Representative Anthony D’Esposito stated. “Our success will depend on us sticking together as Republicans.”